How to Paint a Rug with Chalk Paint

Looking for the proper rug can be exhausting if you’re fixed on a certain combination of colors and texture. You might find a lot of beautiful rugs in stores, but what if none of them is exactly what you want?

Well, then you should paint your own! Yes, you can paint a rug in your favorite colors, like I did. Keep reading to find our the steps to follow!

What You Need for Painting the Rug

Things are pretty simple, especially when your goal is to paint some abstract waves on your rug, like I did.

Painting a rug isn’t much different than painting anything else: you need the object to paint, the proper paint for your kind of surface and an instrument to apply the color, as a brush or a sponge. I prefer to use a brush for creating waves and lines, and a sponge for stenciling, as it allows me to smoothly cover the edges without bleeding.

My rug was pretty textured, but you should choose a flatweave cotton rug for the best results. Actually, any rug would work as long as is has a short loop pile ori a flat texture like sisal, jutta or cotton.

As for the color, the lighter the better, because a lighter color will work as an easy canvas to paint on. Working with a darker color canvas means you might need a base for your painting, or the paint you use should be thicker otherwise it might not be visible enough.

I prefer Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for the great coverage on any type of canvas, and this paint was my choice for the rug project too. You will not find this brand in stores, but only at Annie Sloan’s stockists, so check her website for the closest AS stockist to get your special chalk paint for this project.

As for the colors, I used Country Grey, Paris Grey, Greek Blue and Original, and a small addition of 148 Rich Gold from Maimeri (which is an Italian brand you might buy from Amazon, too, where you will find THIS ONE that is similar to my paint). This type of acrylic paint bonds very well on any surface and doesn’t need sealing.

To make the paint stick easily, you might need to add water from time to time, and a spray bottle would be more than useful for this purpose. Use a tray for the paint and add water from the spray bottle from time to time, to keep the paint from drying while you work.

How You Paint Your Rug

Things are pretty easy with painting when you’re trying to create abstract waves on your rug. I will show you how I created my design so you could follow it step by step. One more thing before starting to paint: you will see a white stripe at each end of the rug. I wanted to keep a small portion unpainted, to make de colors look more vivid, so I used a bit of masking tape to protect this area while painting.

Use the darkest color (Country Grey, in this case) first, and add lines here and there, starting from the edge. Spread gently the color around the main line of color till you lose all the paint from your brush, to create a distressed effect. Remember to do it GENTLY.

Continue with the next color – mine was Paris Gray. Keep the balance between color and negative space and don’t overcrowd the rug with lines. Leave room for the next colors, and continue with gold.

After three shades that you might take as neutrals, an accent is needed. Greek Blue was my choice, as it reminds me of the summer holidays I used to spend on the Greek Island of Thassos. Ad it smoothly here and there, like waves on a serene sea.

In the end, I have added a few touches of Original white to keep the balance and the inner light of this summer inspired rug.

But before making use of your new painted rug, you could make one more step to keep it safe by sealing it with the hot iron. Thought this step is not mandatory for Annie sloan Chalk Paint, I prefer to take it just to accelerate drying. Remember to use a piece of cloth and NEVER iron the painted rug directly.

This is my new rug, and I love it!

This rug was designed for my bedroom, which is about to suffer a few changes in terms of color palette. I’m not going to tell you more for the moment, but you could notice how the grey and beige of the rug get along with the laminated floor around it.

I’m going through a long process of remodelling my home, which also means switching to a new color palette of beige, white and blue. I still have to work a lot till it’s done, but I’m slightly getting closer to my goal. Follow me for more pictures during the process of remodelling my home. And before closing the subject, sneak peak at the projects that help me get the look I want for my home!

Share this article with your friends if you liked it, and tell me what do you think about this project in a comment below!